Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Skyfire browser for iPhone - taken out of app store after 6 hours live

I read this article today and downloaded Skyfire.
I tested myself the browser and can not recommend Skyfire, see below.
However I don't need anymore because the application is already gone from the App Store.





Skyfire.com is showing on their website that skyfire is sold out. But as we all know a software to download can't be sold out. Either Apple took it down (do I get my Money back?) or they could not surf all proxy requests from the users.



Informationweek:
Skyfire has been making mobile browsers for years now, and has versions of its software running on Android, Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 handsets. Skyfire claims that its browser was installed on over one million Android devices in its first three months of availability earlier this year. Now, it is available for the iPhone.
What makes Skyfire a compelling alternative to the iPhone's Safari browser? In a word, Flash.

iPhone users will be able to watch Flash content on Web sites, even though Skyfire doesn't run Flash. Its proxy-based system decodes Flash into HTML5 on the fly and then delivers the content to the handset. In addition, Skyfire comes with native support for social media, such as Facebook and Twitter.
Apple has famously -- or infamously -- prevented native Flash support on the iPhone. None of its "i" devices can access and run Flash content. This often leaves some web content unavailable to iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch users.

Skyfire also believes its "Explore" function sets it apart. By using the Explore feature, Skyfire users can call up fresh content relevant to their current browser activity. For example, if you're reading an article about the current U2 stadium tour and press the Explore button, the browser will automatically skim the Internet for video, news, images, and other content related to the U2 tour.


Skyfire lists the following features of its iPhone browser:
Adaptive streaming technology ensures optimal utilization of network and processor bandwidth (preserves battery life)
Sharing to Facebook and Twitter - it's simple!
Facebook Quickview - Check your Facebook News/Wall without opening another app or page
Intuitive and finger friendly user interface for easy browsing experience
Load full desktop webpages on your mobile device
Multi-tab browsing - open up to eight windows and browse simultaneously.
The application costs $2.99 to download.

My results:
I installed it on my iPhone 4 and iPad.
I was pretty disappointed. The browser has a back button but no forward button (or i don't find the button). The pages are loading much slower than with Safari.
The flash support is pretty simple and does only work with flash video not with other flash elements. Most of the websites which have flash videos have already either switched to HTML5 or alternative video content for mobile.
I went to walmart.com and their flash POV is not loading.



I was expecting it does something but it shows only that i need the flash plugin. Paying $3 for a browser which is slower than safari is too much. The explorer button and social connection is nice but sky fire should be free.

The Skyfire experience is better on the iPhone when compared to the iPad, however. The browser hasn't been optimized for the iPad's display. Users have to hit the "2X" control, which just doubles the size of the app on the iPad's screen. It works, but doesn't look as good as it does on the iPhone. Here as well I expected for this price at least a full iPad version.





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